Last week on March 30th was World Bipolar Day, an annual and international event that spreads awareness of bipolar disorder. This year’s theme was the positive aspects of bipolar disorder, which is a topic we hope to continue inspiring as a network and a community of researchers, healthcare providers, people with lived experience, and more. As part of that theme last week, I was able to record a short video on the Bipolar Blog and my hopes for World Bipolar Day. But that’s only the beginning of our World Bipolar Day 2017.

In the weeks preceding World Bipolar Day, our team was involved in a myriad of activities. Some of us had the wonderful opportunity to team up with People First Radio to record individual and group podcasts which you can view by clicking here. And, of course, the Bipolar Blog was busy trying to finish our World Bipolar Day project; we wanted to be a part of the international voice as much as possible, and so we sought to create pieces written in English and one of the author’s first languages. Below is a list of all the wonderful posts we received and published:

• Le World Bipolar Day: From France to Canada (French here)
• World Bipolar Day 2017: Reflections on a Canadian-Spanish Alliance (Spanish here)
• World Bipolar Day 2017: Ahmad’s Vlog (Arabic here)
• What Can Help You in Sweden if you live with Bipolar Disorder? (Swedish here)
• World Bipolar Day 2017: From Saudi Arabia to Canada (Arabic here)

We are so thankful for our authors Laurent Coque, Caterina del Mar, Ahmad Alshayea, and Carl Ragazan for putting so much effort into these pieces. They’re not just well-written and insightful, but have tangible resources for people who live with bipolar.

Additionally, a few members of our team made their way through the traffic of rush hour Vancouver to the HOpe Centre in North Vancouver for an “Ask Me Anything (About Bipolar)” event. We’re grateful for the HOpe centre and the event coordinators for hosting us and allowing our panel of speakers (myself included) to share our expertise.

You can peruse our twitter @CREST_BD and our instagram for more great moments we experienced on World Bipolar Day 2017. Thank you all for your support and your participation in helping to destigmatize bipolar disorder.

Pictured above is our post-World Bipolar Day art therapy party that some members of the team were able to attend.